Various types of known clamping systems may be used to hold workpieces during manufacturing operations such as machining, routing, cutting and welding. These systems may include combinations of toe-clamps, spring clamps, hold-down bars, constant mold-line bladder tools and set screws that are configured to clamp the workpiece to a base. For example, one such clamping system is disclosed in US Patent Application Publication No. US 2006/0237888 A1 owned by The Boeing Company in which an inflatable bladder is held against a workpiece by a rigid retaining bar fastened to a base. Inflation of the bladder applies a clamping force to the workpiece.
While clamping systems of the type described above provide satisfactory results, they may be limited in their use to workpieces having a particular configuration or surface contour. These clamping systems are often custom-made to match the configuration of the particular workpiece to be clamped, and thus may not be readily adaptable to clamp workpieces having other configurations.
Accordingly, there is a need for an adaptable clamping system that may be readily reconfigured for clamping workpieces having a variety of configurations, thereby avoiding the cost of fabricating clamping elements that are unique to a particular workpiece configuration. Illustrated embodiments of the disclosure are intended to satisfy this need.